Chefs in Cornwall have said drug use in the restaurant trade is rife and the pressure on them can lead to substance abuse and addiction.

The claims follow a two-part series, Gordon Ramsay on Cocaine, in which the sweary chef attempts to understand why the drug is such a large part of the restaurant industry.

He said of the programme, which starts on Thursday, October 19, at 9pm on ITV1: “I've wanted to understand the ‘world’ of cocaine ever since I lost one of my chefs at my flagship restaurant in Chelsea and I wanted to learn why it’s becoming such an epidemic not just globally but specifically in the culinary world.”

So are his claims true? And is drug use prevalent in Cornwall, which has one of the biggest restaurant trades in the country?

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Nik Boyle, owner and chef at the Victoria Inn at Perranuthnoe, near Penzance, told Cornwall Live: "Gordon Ramsay saying that desserts were iced with cocaine is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard, but drug use is rife in the restaurant trade as it is in all industries now."

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Nik, whose pub was named County Dining Pub of the Year in the new Good Pub Guide, added: “When I was younger and working in London and Bristol is was amphetamines that were used by restaurant staff rather than cocaine, because it was ten times cheaper. A lot of chefs did amphetamines and weed, but it wasn’t unusual for a head chef to rack out lines of cocaine at the end of service.

“I know stories of restaurants in London having dealers on speed dial and having a slate with the local dealer. I only knew a handful of chefs who would come to work buzzing but they would soon sweat it out over a hot stove.”

Nik Boyle believes drugs are rife in the restaurant trade but not particularly in Cornwall

He said: “Cocaine is a very middle class drug, so it tended to be amphetamine use especially among kitchen porters who have to run around everywhere. They were all as skinny as rakes.

“It’s understandable in a way because people in the catering industry work such outrageous hours, but if you’re doing Class A drugs it means you are doing too many hours. Perhaps Gordon Ramsay should be looking at that.”

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Restaurants in Cornwall

Another Cornwall-based chef, who asked to remain anonymous, told me: “Substance abuse is clearly evident in the industry. In some areas I've noticed evidence of customers using drugs down here.”

He believes the pressure on chefs can lead to substance abuse and addiction.

“The pressure on us by guests to ‘perform’ is overwhelming, it’s not about food guides but how fickle the public can be. The public need to realise that the guys in the kitchen are human. Of course we try our best to please people, and I mean really try, but people need to get a grip on reality and be aware that it’s only food.”

Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana walk by the The old Lloyds bank building in Fowey, which has been purchased by the chef (Image: SWNS)

Nathan Outlaw, arguably Cornwall's best known chef who holds four Michelin stars across his various restaurants in Cornwall and London, said: "I’m very lucky and the places I’ve worked in Cornwall have always been fine.

"When I was a younger chef training in London I was aware of it in the industry, but fortunately never was I in a position where I saw it cause any trouble. Since I’ve worked in Cornwall since 1998 I’ve been lucky and haven’t seen any problems with drugs in the kitchens."

Another renowned Cornwall-based chef, Stephen Marsh, added: “I don't see it as a big problem in Cornwall - years ago in London it was a big thing, but down here it doesn't seem as widely used. I have no doubt that there will be isolated cases but the food scene in Cornwall is much more serious than ever before and the staff are a lot more focused.”